


matcha made in heaven

by cryptidkidprem



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Exy (All For The Game), M/M, the cute soft gay shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-10-04 03:39:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17297042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryptidkidprem/pseuds/cryptidkidprem
Summary: Jean Moreau meets Jeremy Knox on a blind date in a cute little café near campus. Only, he's not the one on the date, and Jeremy seems like he's having a pretty miserable time.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> started out as a drabble prompt on tumblr that somehow wound up being almost 4k words long so i figured i shuld post this bad boy here. i mean there's never enough soft jerejean aus right ??? :3c

Jean thought that when he finally got away from Riko and moved from West Virginia to California he was getting a fresh start. But then he got a job at a coffee shop five minutes out from a college with a population of 40,000 students, and now he was convinced he’d simply traded one hell for another.

Of course, that wasn’t really true. Sometimes it might have felt that way when he had to work the morning shift, when the rush of USC students came in. He still wasn’t entirely sure how he’d survived his first one, but he had friends and a life and he got to see the sky whenever he wanted, so there really was no comparison.

Things had gotten marginally easier since he became friends with Laila, the shift manager at the café. He wasn't sure why she liked him, but she did, and she tried to give him late shifts as often as she could, which Jean was eternally grateful for. He wasn’t naturally a morning person if given a choice in the matter.

Still, even working the later shifts got hectic sometimes. It came with the territory of selling caffein within walking distance of any type of university. 

Jean and Laila were doing a bit of cleanup after a massive rush around dinner time. The shop had mostly emptied out by now, but there were stray coffee cups and empty sugar packets and used napkins people were too lazy to walk five feet to the trashcans themselves left scattered around the place.

Jean was collecting mugs from one of the tables when Laila appeared at his side and bumped her hip against his. “Hey,” she said, “I’m gonna take my fifteen. Sara’s in class all day and I wanted to call her during her break. You got this?”

Jean glanced down at her and nodded. “Sure,” he said. “Go ahead.”

“Awesome, thanks,” Laila said with a quick smile, squeezing his shoulder and heading to the back room to slip out the back door for her break. Jean could remember a time when Laila’s attempts at casual touches had made his skin crawl. Now they seemed natural, and it was weird when he went a full day without some sort of affectionate touch from his friend.

Jean finished up what he was doing and then, with nothing else to do, he headed back behind the counter in case anyone came in. In the meantime he took to rearranging the pastry display just to have something to do with his hands. Despite all the progress he knew he was making, he still got fidgety being left alone sometimes.

Jean managed to smack his head on the top of the pastry case when he heard the little bell above the door jingle, telling him someone was entering the shop. 

He managed to hide his wince as he made his way back over to the cash register to take the orders of the two boys who’d just came in from outside. Judging by the obnoxiously bright red sweatshirts they were both wearing, Jean figured they were more USC students. Maybe stragglers from the earlier rush or something. 

They hardly seemed to be paying attention to what they were doing; when they got the the register one of them was laughing so hard at whatever the other had said he let out a very inelegant snort, and the other pulled his phone out of his pocket just seconds before they reached the counter. _Rude_. Jean disliked them already, but he disliked most of his customers, so that wasn't out of the ordinary.

“What can I get for you?” Jean asked, trying his best to keep his polite customer voice in check.

It took a moment, but they finally gave Jean their attention. 

“Right, yeah,” the first guy said. He'd stopped laughing, but he was still beaming. Jean couldn't help but think that he had a nice smile, even if Jean hated his guts on principal. “Um, I’ll have a mocha with two shots of caramel and one of hazelnut. Iced. And whatever he’s having.”

“Just large green tea. With ice.”

Since there was no one else in line and no other drinks to make, Jean didn’t bother asking for their names, and got to work after swiping the first guys’ debit card. The wound up picking a table at the far end of the shop, the one right by the window. Jean liked to sit at that table with Laila to chat whenever their breaks lined up. the giant floor-to-ceiling, west-facing windows right behind it let in a lot of light, and during the winter he even got to watch the sunset through it. It was a nice view.

Jean took the drinks over to their table when they were ready, just nodding at the boys’ obligatory _thank you_ ’s and retreating back behind the counter, trying to find something to busy himself with. As much as he despised the early morning rushes, he hated down time like this almost as much. He never knew what to do with himself when he was idle like this and Laila or her girlfriend weren't around to chat his ears off.

Luckily, or maybe not, depending on how he looked at the situation, Jean wasn’t idle for long.

A couple more people came in to order, but they both took their coffees to-go and left quickly. By the time the bell over the door signaled the last woman's departure with her extra-large black coffee, the two guys who’d come in earlier seemed to be arguing about something. Jean tried not to pay any attention, but they were being very animated about it, even if they were keeping their voices down.

Jean only caught snippets of what was going on, but from what he could gather, the two of them were on what seemed to be a spectacularly awful date. Or maybe they were in the middle of a breakup. Or maybe both.

Jean just wanted to ignore them.

He was doing pretty well at it until one of them stood abruptly from the table, knocking into it with his hip. The entire table rocked, causing both of the drinks to tip and spill all over the table, the floor, and the other boy still seated at the table.

Jean frowned, cringing internally. Both drinks had had their lids off, and tea and coffee was swirling together in a sticky mess on the table top and pooling on the floor. The guy still at the table had sprung to his feet as well, but he looked too stunned to do anything besides watch coffee drip off his sweatshirt with his mouth open.

He finally snapped out of it when the boy who’d spilled the drinks stalked off and made for the door. He sort of half-turned towards the door, and called out for him to wait, but it was like he’d kind of expected that not to work because he was turning away almost as soon as the word had left his mouth.

Jean gave his head a little shake and ducked down behind the counter to where they kept a stash of rags. It wasn’t his job to worry about some random customers' social lives, but it was _literally_ his job to clean up the mess they’d just made.

On Jean's way over to the table, the remaining boy had almost emptied the napkin holder and was using the napkins to try and mop up the spilled drinks on the floor. 

Jean realized he’d slowed without meaning to. He wasn’t used to customers having even an ounce of consideration, so it had been a bit of a shock. He picked up his pace again, until he reached the table. Jean thought it might be awkward to just intrude on this guy’s space with no warning, so he stopped and cleared his throat. “Need some help?”

Jean was not expecting to startle him so bad that he jerked and knocked his head on the underside of the table.

Jean winced sympathetically. He should probably apologize, but he was beaten to the punch when the other guy started blabbering.

“Oh, shit, uh,” he stammered, looking up at Jean with wide, helpless eyes. “No, it’s fine, I’ve got it.”

Jean had not expected that answer, and it took him by surprise. He blinked, and elected to just ignore it; he was pretty sure he’d get in trouble if he just let a customer mop up a spill with a handful of napkins. Things would be sticky for days. 

So Jean said, “Okay,” and then bent down to help clean up.

“No, seriously,” he said, casting a dismayed look over at Jean and running his free hand through his hair, thoroughly mussing it up in the process. “I've got this. I can handle it.”

“It’s my _job_ to handle it,” Jean told him, not even looking up.

“But it’s  _my_  mess!”

“You are just going to make it worse smearing it around like that, and I don’t want to get fired because some ridiculous university student feels guilty,” Jean snapped, and immediately regretted it. Thank god it was just him around right now. If his manager had been in the store Jean definitely would’ve had his ass handed to him.

It got even worse when Jean looked up to him to see that he actually had tears in his eyes.

Jean cursed under his breath, his hand clenching into a fist around the rag. Jean had had thousands of shitty customers who treated practically him like he wasn't even a person, but  _this_  is the one he snaps at? “I’m sorry,” Jean said, “That was very rude. I–”

“No,” the guy said, shaking his head and digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. “You’re right. Anyway, I shouldn't get in your way. I should be the one apologizing for fucking up your store.”

Jean sighed. “I was rude, and I apologize,” he said, and then, because he couldn’t make this any worse (right?) he added, “And it was not you who made the mess. It seemed to me that it was him who did that.”

That started a laugh from him, even as a tear finally broke free and slipped down his cheek. Jean looked away, not really wanting to be witness to this stranger's meltdown. “Yeah, okay, fair,” he said. “And you— you’re fine. Really. This—” he gestured at his own face. “This isn’t ‘cause of you. I— I think I just got dumped.”

Jean had no idea how to respond to that, but he felt silence would probably be rude, so he just said. “Oh. Sorry.”

“ _I’m_  sorry,” he said. “I don’t even know you. I shouldn’t just— dump this on you. You’re just trying to do your job, I should shut up,” he rambled. “God.  _Sorry_ ," he repeated, tugging a hand through his hair again, disheveling it even more. "I wish I could say I’m not usually this much of a mess. But." He shrugged. "This is pretty par for the course, honestly.” 

Jean bit the inside of his cheek. He probably shouldn’t say what he wanted to say, but. Things had gotten pretty familiar between the two of them at this point, so what was the harm? “Well. That is one thing you and I have in common,” he half-mumbled.

That earned him another short laugh. “You seem pretty put together to me,” he commented.

Jean snorted. “Good. They pay me to look that way,” he said, gesturing around at the store with his free hand. “You should see me outside of this place.”

Another laugh, this one more genuine than the last ones. Or at least less hysterical. Jean couldn’t help but think this self-proclaimed mess of a man had a nice laugh, and felt a little prickle of pride for having earned it three times now.

“Well, hey. You’re doing a good job,” he said. “You had me totally fooled.”

Jean hummed, biting back a smile of his own. At that point he’d pretty much gotten the mess on the floor cleaned up, and he stood to finish up with the table.

“Right. Well. I should go before I fuck up your store anymore,” the guy said.

“Wait,” Jean said, looking up. “Let me remake your coffee before you leave.”

“No, oh my god, you don’t have to do that,” he tried to argue. “I’ve already cost you so much time and energy and... You don’t need to.”

“I really do,” Jean told him. “It's good customer service.”

“Okay,” he said.

“Okay,” Jean said, and left a rag on the table while he walked back behind the counter to make another mocha with caramel and hazelnut. It didn’t take long, and Jean handed the guy his drink, to-go this time, and then, after some additional  _I’m sorrys_  and  _thank yous_ , he left.

Jean watched him go, and after he was gone, it took him a moment to remember that he still had to finish cleaning up. 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Three weeks later, and Jean hadn’t seen any of his customers from that day come back in. Not that there was any customer in particular he was keeping an eye out for. It had just been another day, another disaster. Jean had no reason to think about it.

But he still did. He was spectacularly bad at lying to himself, and so he couldn’t pretend he wasn’t thinking about that day. Or more specifically, that boy who called himself a mess but had one of the prettiest smiles Jean had ever seen. 

And, god. Jean hated himself for thinking that; what kind of idiot got a crush on a random stranger who bought coffee from him once? Apparently a very lonely, gay idiot who hadn’t had anything even resembling a boyfriend in a long time. So, in other words, someone exactly like Jean Moreau.

“Hey,” came Laila’s voice at Jean’s shoulder, snapping him out of his depressing reverie. “You wanna come hang out with Sara and I when your shift ends?” She asked.

For once, Jean didn't even need to think about. “Sure,” he answered. He’d been in his head too much lately. It would do him good to spend time with other people outside of the café.

Laila beamed at him, hip-checking him on her way by as she passed him with a bin full of dirty cups that needed washing. “Great,” she said, and then threw him a look over her shoulder. “Oh, and hey, just to warn you: I think Sara’s gonna bring a friend. Jeremy. A guy she knows from her classes. He’s pretty cool.”

Jean frowned. “Wait,” he said, but Laila had already vanished into the backroom. He sighed, trying to replace the instant dread that had just sprung to life inside himself with something more like optimism. Jean was famously  _ terrible _ at meeting new people, but... If Laila and Alvarez liked this guy, Jean supposed there was a chance he might, too. He could at least give him a chance.

 

-

 

An hour later, Jean left the shop with Laila at his side, her arm hooked through his elbow as she texted someone, presumably Alvarez. He and Laila had been mistaken for a couple before when walking like this, which was laughable considering they were both gay. But the truth was that Laila was just a very physically affectionate person with her friends.

She finally looked up from her phone, stuffing it into the back pocket of her jeans. “We’re meeting them in ten down at the park,” she told him.

Jean nodded his consent. It was a nice day, and he wouldn't mind spending some time out in the sun.

‘The park’ wasn’t actually a park, but just a stretch of grass with some trees and benches about halfway between Alvarez’s campus and the shop Laila and Jean worked at. 

Alvarez was sitting at a picnic table at the far end of the block. (Or, actually,  _ on _ the table, because apparently the bench just didn’t cut it.) The person sitting beside her (also on the table) must’ve been the friend Laila mentioned. Jean mentally prepared himself for the hassle of meeting a new person, but as they got closer, Jean’s apprehension was replaced by something like shock.

Laila didn’t notice the way Jean stopped dead a few feet from the table. She was too busy greeting her girlfriend with a deep kiss.

For a moment, Jean thought he must be hallucinating or something, but then he saw the way Alvarez’s friend (Jeremy, Laila had said his name was) looked at him, his eyes going wide before he let out a quick laugh. “It’s you,” he said.

“It’s you,” Jean returned, unsure of what else to say.

Laila and Alvarez looked up, Laila’s brow furrowing and Alvarez looking between the two of them. “You guys know each other?” Alvarez asked.

“Um,” Jean said, swallowing.

“We met,” Jeremy said. “Once.”

Alvarez blinked. “ _ What _ ? When? How the fuck did I not know about this?”

Jean shot her a frown, but as usual, it had no effect. 

“Remember last month when I went on that really shitty blind date with Toby’s roommate?” Jeremy said.

Both girls nodded. “You mean the one where some rando spent half-an-hour ignoring you for his phone and then spilled coffee all over you and bailed?” Laila asked. “I seem to recall you mentioning it.”

“Yeah,” Jeremy said, “and then, um, remember—“

“Wait,” Alvarez cut him off. “ _ Moreau _ is the hot barista you told us about? The one you wouldn’t fucking shut up about?”

Jean almost choked on the breath he was taking, and Jeremy practically squeaked out, “ _ Sara! _ ” 

Wide-eyed, Jeremy turned to Jean. “I didn’t— I don’t know your name. I didn’t know what else to call you, and I— don’t listen to her. She has it out for me. They both do.”

Jean stared back at him, the gears spinning in his head as he searched for some kind of response. “You can just call me Jean,” he finally said. “That’s my name.”

Jeremy blanched, and Alvarez snorted before bursting out laughing. “Wow,” she said. “Not even gonna cut him a little slack?”

Jean wasn’t entirely sure what she meant, but he pinched his brows together and frowned at her.

“Um” Jeremy said, drawing Jean’s attention back to him. “Right. Okay. I’m Jeremy, by the way.”

“I know,” Jean said, before he realized how creepy that sounded and had to add, “Laila told me. Before we arrived.”

“Okay,” Laila said, “I’m ready to be done with all this awkwardness. You’ve met. Jeremy thought you were hot. Let’s move on, yes?”

“Oh my god,” Jeremy said, dropping his face into his hands. “You're really not helping.”

Jean stuffed his own hands into his pockets. By now he was fighting to suppress a grin.  _ He thinks I’m hot _ , Jean kept thinking. Maybe Jean wasn’t so pathetic after all. Or maybe this guy was just equally as pathetic as he was. Either way, it put Jean in an oddly good mood. He rocked back and forth on his feet. “I think they have it out for me as well,” he told Jeremy. “You’re not alone in that.”

Jeremy looked up at him and managed a sheepish smile. “At least I’m in good company then.”

Jean ducked his head to hide the way his cheeks flushed faintly. Luckily, no one else seemed to notice. Or if they did, they didn’t mention it.

Jean learned something over next hour of his life he spent hanging out with Laila, Alvarez, and Jeremy. He learned that his stupid, pathetic, maybe-crush wasn’t as stupid and pathetic as he’d originally thought, because it turned out Jeremy was the sweetest, most charming person Jean had ever met.

Jean honestly found himself a little disappointed when the afternoon inevitably had to end. They couldn’t just sit around there forever, Jean knew, but he still had a little pang of disappointment when everyone started to disperse. Laila gave Jean a quick hug, and Alvarez gave him a nod at the end of the block before they went their separate ways. (Jean’s apartment was in the other direction from the one Laila and Alvarez shared, so he would have to head home alone.)

Jean was about to round the corner and get going when he heard his name and turned back around. Jean’s heart did a little hop when he saw Jeremy walking towards him.

“Hey,” Jeremy said, once he’d caught up with Jean. “So. Um. I was just wondering if, maybe, you’d want to, like, hang out sometime? I mean, I dunno about you, but. I had a lot of fun today. And I just think. It would be cool if we spent more time together.”

Jean blinked. He knew he should say something, but he was too stunned that someone might actually want to spend more time around him. Someone that he really liked spending time with. Someone completely lovely, who seemed just as nerve-struck as Jean was himself.

“You mean,” he finally said. “You mean. Just you and I?”

“Yeah,” Jeremy nodded, biting at his bottom lip. “If you want.”

There were a million reasons for Jean to say no and turn him down. He was hard to get to know, even harder to like, and probably near impossible to fall for. He’d never really dated (if this even was a date) and had no clue how to do it. The one real relationship he’d ever been involved in had ended in catastrophe and heartbreak. His past was a horror show that left Jean a patch-work mess of a human being, so if it was more than likely that if none of those other things scared Jeremy off, that would probably do the job if he stuck around long enough to really get to know Jean.

But even with all those reason, Jean found one truly compelling reason to say yes:  _ He really fucking wanted to.  _

Jean had spent two years and what probably accumulated to thousands of dollars in intensive therapy learning that he could want things, and sometimes he might actually be allowed to have the things he wanted. So really, if he just walked away from this very good-looking man who wanted to go out with him, what was the point of  _ all of that _ ? 

Jean swallowed, and nodded. “Yes,” he said. “Yes I would. I would like that.”

Jeremy’s face lit up in a sunshine grin. “Awesome,” he said, and then he pulled his phone out of his pocket and fumbled with it for a moment before handing it over. “Here,” he said. “Put your number in my phone. I’ll text you.”

It was so all so  _ normal _ Jean had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop from laughing. Maybe that’s why he found the confidence to do what he did next. He paused, looking up at Jeremy. “We don’t have to get coffee, do we?”

Jeremy blinked, and then he laughed, and it was one of the prettiest things Jean had ever heard. “No,” he said. “We can go for pizza or something. Or just come back here. Whatever you want. No coffee.”

Now it was Jean’s turn to smile, as he input his phone number in Jeremy’s phone and handed it back. “Alright,” he said, “then I will see you later?”

“Definitely,” Jeremy said, flashing him another smile before he left. Jean took a moment watching him walk away before he turned back around and headed for home. This time, he felt significantly lighter, with something that felt like happiness stirring in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u so much for reading !!! hope y'all enjoyed it, and if so comments and kudos are Greatly appreciated !! 
> 
> i have more writing on my tumblr(s) [@trojean](http://trojean.tumblr.com/) and [@jewishneiljosten](http://jewishneiljosten.tumblr.com/) if ur interested, or if u just wanna come say hi or somethin !
> 
> also the loml haley davidwymack on tumblr suggested the title for which i am eternally grateful b/c i'm SO BAD at titles and i didn't want to use song lyrics for this one djhfgkdjhfg


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